The above title refers to Joe Girardi’s comment following the first loss of his career as manager with the Yankees. The New York Times continues the quotation: “You come to the ballpark and prepare to win, and losing stinks.”

And lose they did, in their second outing against the Blue Jays. The score at the end of the night was 5-2. Alex Rodriguez couldn’t stop the ill-fated defeat with his two-run homer in the seventh. That could not compete with A.J. Burnett’s performance of keeping the Yankees from scoring for six innings.

Mike Mussina gave Yankee Ticket holders little to be excited about this season in a lukewarm performance on a very cold night. The Daily News explains the performance of the Yankees’ starting pitcher:

“Mussina allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in 5-2/3 innings, although the majority of the hits were bloops and bleeders.”

The simple fact is that Mussina was totally mediocre. And that couldn’t compare with a very good Blue Jays team. It is the beginning of the season. There’s along way to fall. But the fact of the matter is that Mussina has got to step it up for the Yankees to reach their aspirations of a championship this season.